Wall-E Vignettes #1 : Pixar's new short animations featuring Wall-E

As Wall-E is preparing to stomp the face of earth(or should i say theaters near you), Pixar is making sure no one misses it. And hence the several new short animations of Wall-E in the most endearing and fun situations.

Check the first one right here, with Wall-E going bonkers with a Vacuum Cleaner -

Innovative lessons from Pixar : An interview with Oscar-winning director Brad Bird

The McKinsey Quaterly asks: what does stimulating the creativity of animators have in common with developing new product ideas or technology breakthroughs? Apparently, a lot.

In Innovation lessons from Pixar, McKinsey writes:

Brad Bird makes his living fostering creativity. Academy Award-winning director (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) talks about the importance, in his work, of pushing teams beyond their comfort zones, encouraging dissent, and building morale. He also explained the value of “black sheep”—restless contributors with unconventional ideas.



In this very interesting read Brad Bird talks about how innovation and creativity goes hand in hand, whether its for developing new ideas for products or for creating appealing movies.



Check out the extract here.
or
Register at The McKinsey Quarterly for the full interview.

The full interview also contains and interactive feature including audio clips from the interview, stills from several of Bird’s projects, and a brief biography.


For anyone related to the field of Animation, this is an absolutely must read and even for other people into Management Consulting, this article can be very very insightful.



About McKinsey :
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management in large corporations and organizations. McKinsey serves as a trusted advisor to the world’s leading businesses, governments, and institutions. It is widely recognized as a leader and one of the most prestigious firms in the management consulting industry. It has been ranked as No.1 for consecutive 5 years in the Vault Top 50 consulting firms list.

Weekly Movie Recommendations : 10th May 2008 - 16th May 2008

The Illusionist (2006)

Genre - Drama, Mystery, Romance

Cast - Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti

Whats It About - A magician in turn-of-the-last-century Vienna falls in love with a woman well above his social standing. When she becomes engaged to the crown prince, the magician uses his powers to free her and undermine the stability of the royal house of Vienna.

An engrossing, well-crafted story of mystery, magic and intrigue.Why To Watch It - The Illusionist is an engrossing, well-crafted story of mystery, magic and intrigue that is certain to enchant, if not hypnotize, audiences.

Edward Norton delivers yet another fantastic performance. He has proven time and again by his playing all his characters so effortlessly that he is one hell of a good actor.

The cinematography is what you can call it extreme brilliance. Its simply beautiful.

Have a look -

Weekly Movie Recommendations : 3rd May 2008 - 9th May 2008

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Genre - Drama, Thriller, War

Cast - Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte

Whats It About - A true story of a man who fought impossible odds to save everyone he could and created a place where hope survived.

Why To Watch It - Don Cheadle gives a riveting performance as Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a European-owned hotel in Rwanda, who created a secret refugee camp for the Tutsi people during the brutal genocide committed against them by the Hutu people in 1994. His efforts helped to save 1200 lives out of close to a million who were killed.

It is the delicate treatment that director Terry George gives the insane, helpless situation depicted in HOTEL RWANDA which makes the film so penetrating. While the violence and gore of the genocide play a disturbing part in the film, the focus lies on the heroism of its protagonist and the strength with which he navigates under seemingly impossible odds.

Don Cheadle gives another fantastic performance by playing the character of Paul Rusesabagina so effortlessly. Simply brilliant !

Check out the trailer -

New Animation Podcast : Ken Duncan - Part One

Animation Podcast is out with its new Podcast and this time its with Ken Duncan.


About Ken Duncan - Ken Duncan has served as a supervising animator on four Disney films. His characters include Thomas (Pocahontas), Meg (Hercules), Jane (Tarzan), Captain Amelia and Scroop (Treasure Planet). Ken was also a sequence supervisor on Dreamworks’ Sharktale. He currently is running his own studio, Duncan Studio, based in Pasadena, California. This is part one of the interview.


Check it out, lots of interesting stuff he talks about here.


Get the MP3 version. (26.3MB, 56:58 minutes)

OR

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes chapter breaks, pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
(26.3MB, 56:58 minutes)